The following background discussion includes information that could be useful in understanding the present inventive subject matter. It is not an admission that any of the information provided herein is prior art or relevant to the presently claimed inventive subject matter, or that any publication specifically or implicitly referenced is prior art.
Personal sound systems and similar electronic devices are growing rapidly in popularity, permitting users to enjoy music, audiobooks, and other forms of auditory entertainment without being tethered to a home system. Use of such devices while commuting, bicycling, and enjoying other activities outside of the home is commonplace. As the quality of sound reproduction improves, such devices are also beginning to replace traditional large, fixed units in the home with portable devices that are carried from room to room.
Portability generally requires that such a system be compact and lightweight, however this goal is often at odds with the necessity of ruggedizing such a system against accidental impacts, moisture, dust, and other environmental insults. Speakers are generally relatively fragile components of sound systems, and are particularly susceptible to damage from such events. A wide variety of manufacturers address this issue by supplying their system with earbuds or headphones that affix to the user's head in place of a conventional speaker. Unfortunately, use of such devices also block the user's perception of ambient sounds, presenting a sufficient safety hazard that their use is prohibited when operating motor vehicles in many jurisdictions.
Provision of a rugged sound system that broadcasts sounds to the ambient environment while allowing the user to hear necessary warning sounds is therefore desirable. However, the relative fragility of some system components presents a considerable impediment to designers. Some manufacturers have attempted to address this by providing various structures and mounts to stabilize and protect such systems. For example, the iLuv™ iSP110 and the iKross™ Portable Amplified Speaker Case provide a soft case that includes a speaker covered with a grate and a clip attached by a tether, which could be used to prevent the system from being dropped. Audio Bike™ systems supplies speakers, which could be used with personal audio players, in rigid casings that insert into the hollow interior of a bicycle's handlebars, preventing them from being dislodged and impacting the ground during use. These casings include piercings across a portion of the upper surface at one end of the case for transmission of sound. Similarly, BoomBotix™ supplies a device that clamps around the exterior of a bicycle's handlebars, allowing a user to mount a speaker covered by a protective grate to a bicycle. A similar mount is available for the GoPro™ camera systems (which have audiovisual recording and playback ability); GoPro also provides a variety of other mounting accessories that attach to various points on the camera's casing.
Unfortunately, these approaches do not provide a solution to the problem of providing a sound system that provides high quality sound reproduction and is adaptable for use across a wide variety of operating environments. Efficient broadcast of sound to the ambient environment requires a means to transmit sound waves generated by a speaker to the environment outside of the system with the least resistance possible. This need, however, is at odds with the need to protect sensitive system components. The grates disclosed in the systems noted above sometimes permit sound to move relatively freely but do not appear to provide a high degree of protection. The pierced, rigid casings of the Audio Bike speakers provide some protection, but their insertion into the handlebar necessary greatly limits the area through which sound could be transmitted. Devices that secure sound systems can provide a certain degree of protection by reducing the incidence of impacts. However it is desirable that their design also incorporate features that minimize their impact on sound reproduction. Flexible mounts such as the tethers of the iLuv iSP110 and the iKross Portable Amplified Speaker Case unfortunately leave ample opportunities for side impacts. Mounting systems designed for affixing a sound system to a specific object, such as those disclosed by the BoomBotix and Audio Bike systems, necessarily do not provide a general solution to securing a sound system, whereas the mounting system disclosed by the GoPro product line merely provides fixation without addressing audio performance.
These and all other extrinsic materials discussed herein are incorporated by reference in their entirety. Where a definition or use of a term in an incorporated reference is inconsistent or contrary to the definition of that term provided herein, the definition of that term provided herein applies and the definition of that term in the reference does not apply.
Unless the context dictates the contrary, all ranges set forth herein should be interpreted as being inclusive of their endpoints, and open-ended ranges should be interpreted to include commercially practical values. Similarly, all lists of values should be considered as inclusive of intermediate values unless the context indicates the contrary.
Thus, there is still a need for a durable sound system that can provide accurate reproduction of sounds across a wide variety of operating environments both inside and outside of the home or office.